Catholic school, local business partner to develop American-style high school in China
By Brandi Makuski
Officials from Pacelli Catholic Schools are helping create a new high school in China.
The city’s Catholic high school is helping develop an American-style high school in the City of Foshan, located in Guangdong Province in southeastern China. Foshan has an urban population of just over seven million.
The school will be staffed by English-speaking teachers, according to a news release from PCS, and is expected to launch this fall for students in grades 10-12.
The process has been underway for some time, according to Gregg Hansel, director of education, who’s been working on the venture with United States University Pathways and Foshan Foreign Language School-Guangwai.
“The goal is to create a Pacelli High School experience in China,” Hansel said. “From discipline, instruction, pedagogy, and course materials.”
Staff at Pacelli High School will serve as consultants in a number of areas, led by Principal Larry Theiss, Hansel said, including the development of curriculum, assessment, goal setting, and professional growth of teachers.
“The goals for this venture are multi-faceted, with a primary emphasis on helping Chinese students become better prepared to enter a university in the United States,” Hansel said. “The curriculum, which will mimic Pacelli’s curriculum, will provide the rigor, learning style, and English instruction needed for these students to transition into American universities, with an emphasis on UW-System schools including UWSP.”
Both Hansel and Theiss were in China recently to meet with representatives from the Gaoming District Education Bureau, which represents 80,000 public and private students in China.
Also on board for the project is Skyward, Inc. The Stevens Point-based company plans to provide the new school’s software.
“It’s always an exciting opportunity when we get to expand our support to schools overseas and provide them with the solutions they need to create the best possible learning experience,” said Skyward President Scott Glinski.
The Central Wisconsin Information Technology Alliance (CWITA) will also be working with the project, according to the news release, as another goal is to focus on bringing additional skilled labor in Central Wisconsin.
